Drive-chain



Patented June 21, 1887.

FIG.

M. GARLAND.

DRIVE GHAIN.

(No Model.)

Nrrn STATES ATENT MICHAEL GARLAND, OF BAY CITY, MICHIGAN.

DRIVE-CHAIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,123, dated June 21,1887.

(No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, MICHAEL GARLAND, of Bay City, in the county of Bayand State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement inChains; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making part of ,this application.

My invention relates lo lhat type or genus of chain which is made up ofaltcrnatelyar ranged single-bar and double-bar links, and

used, according to its detail structure, for the.

purposes of a carricrchain or a mere drive chain.

Previous to my invention it has been customary in the construction ormanufacture of this type of chain (of various sizes and under numerousmodifications as to the precise details of its structure) to have theadjacent ends of both the single-bar and the douhle-bar links perforatedand a pintle-like device or stud arranged within the perforations of'said parts to hinge them together, the said pintle-like device beingusually either riveted (or upset) at both ends, (in the formation of atight or nondetachable chain,) or provided-with a head at one end'andthreaded at the other end for the reception of a nut, (in themanufacture of a detachable chain,) all in a manner well known to thoseskilled in the art. In practice there are serious objections to suchmode of construction, chief among which are the liability of the pintlesor rivets to get crooked and worn out of round, and to then get outofproper working position (the pintles being free to turn in the holes ofboth the double-bar and the singlebar links) relatively to the holes inthe links, the rapid wearing away of the holes in both the double andsingle links into an elliptical shape, and the consequent weakening ofboth links at the vieinifies of their eyes, and the ag- L gregation ofthese (serious) difficulties by reason of the necessarily small amountof bearingsurface between the wearing parts of the chain. I propose toovercome these objections to the type of chains alluded to, and toprovide for use chain of this type that shall be more durable, and atthe same time to improve this kind of chain by such formations of theparts as will render them capable of presenting at the articulations'ofthe chain extensive bearing-sur4 face, hence capable of long wear, whileat the same time the stock of both the single-bar and the double-barlinks may be easily malleableized and possess sufficient draft strength.

To these main ends and objects my inven` tion consists, essentially, in,first, the novel construction comprising the use of alternatelyarrangedperforated double-bar links and single-bar links formed withlaterally-projecting hollow cylindrical lugs or pintle-like dcvices, tobe hereinafter more fully described, and which will be more specificallypointed out in the claims of this specification, and, second, the novelconformation of the bars composing the links, so as to furnish thenecessary tensile strength, and at the same time pos- Sess the capacityto be easily and thoroughly annealed by the usual process for makingmalleable castings of iron, all as will be hereinafter more fullyexplained, and as will be more specifically pointed out in the claims ofthis specification.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention relates tounderstand and practice the same, I will now proceed to more fullydescribe it, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, in whichI have illustrated my invention carried out in that particular form inwhich l have so far successfully praeticed it, and which is about thebest now known to me.

In the drawings, Figure l is an edge view of a chain made according tomy invention.

Fig. 2 is a face view of the same, showing a portion ofthe chain inhorizontal central scction. Fig. 3 is a detail crosssection at the linea; x of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view at the line y y ofFig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a detail cross-section at the line z of Fig. 2.

In the several figures the same part will be found designated by thesame letter of' reference.

As usual in the type of chain to which my invention relates, the linksare alternately single-bar and double-bar, as seen, respectively, at Aand B. The two bars of each double-bar link B are duplicates of eachother, though turned into reverse positions iu the assenr blings of theparts comprising the chain, and the single-bar links A are of course allalike.

IOO

Therefore a description of one of the links or bars A willanswer for allof them, and in like manner the structure of one only of the bars B needbe'explained.

Each of the bars B is composed o f a platelike body portion, 1, twohiib-like parts, 2 2,

and a surrounding rib-like part, 3, while each link or bar A is formedof a hollow or coredout body portion, 4, the ends of which are aboutseini-cylindrical, and four laterally-projecting pintle-like devices, 5,two` at each end of the bar and axially in line with each other, all asclearly shown.

Each of the hub-like portions of the bar B has a groove or spline, c,cut in its bore, and parallel with vthe axis of the latter, while eachof the tubular pintle-like devices of the bar A is -provided near itsouter end, and so as to project radially from its periphery, with a lug,d, the said grooves c of one set of bars andthe said lugs el of theother set Vconstituting the preferable means by which the articulatedparts are held together (in a hinged condition) While in Workingcondition, but permitted to be easily uncoupled by simply turning anytwo links into a given relative position and then moving them sidewiserelatively to each other, after a fashion well known to those familiarwith the construction and operation of other forms of detachable chainembodying analogous means for permitting the ready coupling anduncoupling of the parts when turned out of a working position.

It will be seen th at by the construction of the bars A with thepintle-like devices 5, and the combination of these devices with thehub-like Adevices 2 of the bars B, as shown, articulations or hinge-likejoints are produced in which the bearing-surfaces of the devices 2 and 5are very extensive in proportion of the weight of stock composing theseparts of the links, and that therefore these bearing-surfaces willendure much or wear much longerthan those of joints as heretofore made.

The parts of the chain are readily detachable, though not liable to anyaccidental uncoupling of the parts, while at the same time the jointswill remain in perfect working condition for a long time.

`By making the pntle-like devices hollow, asshown, not only is thehinge-like joint made .more enduring, by reason of tlie increasedWearingsurfaces, andall liability of t-he pintles getting out ofalignment avoided, but the thickness of stock of the pintles is such atall points, notwithstanding the large journals afforded, that the metalmay be perfectly and easily annealed throughout the whole extent of themass.

By making-the body portion of the link A hollow, as shown and described,great strength and sufficient rigidity are given to the link, while atthe same time the distribution of the metal is such that the link-bodyhas no portion so thick as to impair the perfection of themalleableizing process to which the castings have to besubjected in themanufacture of chain of that type to which my improve` ments are to beapplied.

In lieu'of the precise form of hollow, body seen aty A, the single-barlinks maybe differently cored out, orI otherwise formed to get thedesired effects or results, and should it be ,deemedexpedient oradvisable to lend greater strength tothe hinge-joints of the chain, thismay be ldone by supplementing such joints with cylindrical bars of Virondriven fast into the core-holes of the pintles.

The bars of the links B are made exceed-` ingly strong, and at the sametime light and capable of being perfectly annealed by shaping them, asshown, with the bandlike or rib- Vlike portionv 3, embracing thetransverselyarranged plate-like lpart1,while by the formation ofthebearingsurfaces for the pintles of the other links within the hub-likeportions 2, in the manner shown, great wearing capacity is attainedwithout the presence in the link B of any part or portion so thick as tointerfere with a perfect annealnient of the iron composing the casting.Y y

. The described advantages due to my novel construction of the parts areof course most important in the manufacture of chain (of the type shown)of comparatively large sizes and for heavy work, either as drivecliainor carrier (or conveyer) chain.

What I claim as new,and Letters Patent, is-

1. In a chain composed of alternatelyarranged-single-bar links anddouble-bar links, the combination, lwith the double-bar links B B,provided with the hub-like devices 2,*of -single-bar links A, formed orprovided with desire to secure by .the pintle-like devices 5, projectinglaterally from both sides ofthe link and near eitheren'd thereof, all inthe manner specified, for the purposes set forth.

'2. In a chain of the type shown and described, sngle-bar `links havingcylindrical pintle-like laterally-projecting devices 5, and

also having its body portion niade hollow, as

rio'

specified, to possess the requisite tensile .i

strength, and at the saine time present only l I I5v

